Propelling cars by electricity



(No Model.) 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

I J. R. FINNEY- PROPELLING CARS BY ELECTRICITY. N0. 285,353. 1PatentedSept. 18, 1883.

A A1 wily N. PETERS. Pmcmmo n hv. Wahingmu. D. c

(No Model.) 4SheetsSheet 2 J. R. PINNEY.

PROPELLINGGARS BY ELEGTRIOITY. No. 285,353. Patented Sept. 18, 18 83.

N4 PETERS. Phuhrhlhognphcr. Washingun. 0.0.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheem 3;

- J. R. PINNEY.

V PROPELLING OARSIBYELEGITRIOI-TY. No. 285,353. Patented Sept. 18, 1883.

- Tmcwesses G'Mweflmy W V A, 74;, W I

(No Model.) I 1 h J. R. ,PIN-NEY.

PROPELLING ems BY ELEGTRIGITYE V h Nu. 285,353. Patented Sept. 18,1883.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

lnv'enior 6 5% a6 17% JOSEPH R. FINNEY, OF PITTSBURG, ASSIGNOR TOHIMSELF AND THOMAS B. KERR, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,353, datedSeptember 18, 1883. Application filed Fcbrunrylfv. 1882. [No model.) I

1'.) a, wit/mt it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH B. FINNEY, of Pittsburg, in the county ofAllegheny and 7 State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Propelling Cars by Electricity; and I do hereby declarethe following to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof. I

My invention relates to the propulsion of 1o railway-cars by nieansof anelectric motor the axis of which is connected mechanically with thewheels, so as to turn the same, said motor being operated by electricitysupplied thereto from a main wire or other conductor extending along thetrack by means of a branch wire or conductor connected to the car,having a traveling or moving contact with the said main conductor.

To enable others skilled in the art to make o reversing and brakeappliances, and the attachnient of the branch conductor to the car. Fig.3 is a transverse vertical section of the car, showing themotor-sustaining and powertransinit-ting devices.

main conductors crossing each other. Fig. 5 is a plan view of themotor-sustaining frame. Fig. 6 is a view of the bracket sustaining themain conductor, and shows the traveler of the branch conductor, partlyin section. Fig. 7 is 0 a side view of the traveler. Fig. 8 is avertical section of the traveler, and shows another form of mainconductor. Figs. 9 and 10 represent devices for taking up the slack ofthe branch conductor. Fig. 11 is a view of the 5 commutator and of thebrake and reversing appliances. form ofresistance. Figs. 13 and 14 arediagrams showing how the cars may be lighted by electricity. Fig. 15shows the connections between the binding-screws of the commuta Fig.{lis a view of two Fig. 12 is a view of a modified tor and the coils ofthe magnet, and between 1 the latter and the shaft.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

' Along the side of or above the track, and

as nearly as possible parallel thereto, I extend upon suitable poles, b,or other supports a strong wire or other shaped metallic conductor, a,one end of which is connected with a suitable machine or otherstationary source, c, of electricity. The other pole of the producer iseither grounded directly or extended out on poles, as shown in Fig. 1.In the latter case the current is grounded through other cars on theline. The current to operate the motor on thecar d is conducted theretoby means of a single branch wire, 0, which has a moving or travelingelectrical contact with the main conductor, and extends to and isconnected with the contact-regulator of the motor onthe car. The movingcontact is obtained by means of a traveler, f, (which is similar inconstruction to that described in Letters Pat ent No. 231,552, grantedto me 011 August 24, 1880,) having one or two pairs of grooved me- 7tallic sheaves, f, with springbearings f mounted on the plate f forpassing over the main conductor, and a pivoted socket, f, for

'the attachment of the branch wire 6. The

main conductor a is sustained on the poles b by brackets g, insulatedfrom the poles or other support, as at g, and which, if desired, may bemade of spring-steel to relieve the strain of the traveler when startingsuddenly. At the end of the bracket g is an externally- 8 5 smooth loop,9', which will receive the conductor a, but will afford littleresistance to the passage of the traveler, which runs easily along theconductor, the sheaves parting slightly as they pass over a splice inthe wire or over the 0 loops g V Mounted on the car is anelectromagnetic motor, h, of any known and suitable construe-- tion, themain shaft of which is mechanically connected with and drives one of theaxles of 5 the car. I prefer to use gearing, as it is more reliable thanother connections and enables a better application of the power. Thisgearing consists, preferably, of a pinion, h on the shaft h, and agear-wheel, i, on the car-axle IOO c is connected to the rod on.

or on the wheel j. The electromotorh is provided with a commutator, Z,of the usual construction, it being a ring or collar. on the shaft h,composed of segmental conductors Z, insulated'ffrom each other byinterposed layers of non-conducting material Z The apparatus'I use forgoverning the movements of the car isas follows: On the platform of thecar are two pivoted levers, m and n.

IO The lever m is p'ivotally connected to an iron rod, m, whichterminates in a metallic block, m". The outer end of the rod m, with itsmetallic block W, extends into a longitudinal groove, .0, in a woodenbar or other insulator,

I 5 ,0, which is fastened to the frame 7: by a pivoted support, andextends to the motor-case J1 opposite to the commutator l. Thewooden bar0 is surrounded by a coil of wire, 1), which is insulated thereby fromcontact with the rods m a, but not from the block m, which, being placedin the groove 0, is in contact with one or more coils of the wire p. Thebranch wire A hole, 0", extends longitudinally through the bar 0.

n, which extends through the hole 0 and through an insulated guide, q,placed on the end of the motor-case h and terminates in acommutator-spring, n. The end 1) of the wire 0 p is placed in contactwith the rod n at the rear end of the bar 0. The lever n is capable ofseveral fixed positions. A rack, r, is pro; vided on the platform,having five notches, r We r* r'. The lever n can be placed in any one ofthe notchesat pleasure. The commu- 5 cause the car to come to a stop.

5 5 the latter with the shaft 7/.

tator-spring *n" can thereby be caused to sume five positionstwo ateither side of a vertical plane bisecting the center of the armature vDin contact with the commutator, and

4o=-the one entirely beyond and out of contact with the; commutator. Thefirst two positions will cause the carto go forward, the second twopositions will cause the car. to go backward, and the fifth. will openthe circuit and I regulate the force of the current by means of thelever m. The coil 1) is a resistance. The greater the distance thecurrent has to pass over it the less will be its force. The currentpasses from the branch 0 by the rod m, block W,

wire 19, and spring a to the commutator.

Fig. 15 is a diagram which shows the electrical connections of thebinding-screws a b with the coils of the magnets A B (3, and of In thisview one of the magnets has been omitted for greater clearness ofillustration. The wire a" extends from the binding-posta around thecores of the magnet A, and is then connected to the shaft h at a. Thewire 0 extends from the binding-post 0 around the cores of the magnetC,.and is fastened to the shaft h at 0 The connections of the magnet Bare made in a similar manner. The shaft h is in electrical 6 5connection with the metallic case It at its bearings therein. Thecurrent passes from the The 5 lever n is pivotally connected to'an ironrod,

commutator over the motor-coils to the shaft -h", thence by case Z andmetallic frame to to the car-axle t, and thence by the car-wheel j tothe rails, thus making aground or return current; or the current maypass from the other pole of the generator; or, if desired, a

ground-wire, 8, may be used.

To provide for unequal distances between the track and the mainconductor a, I make use of a device described in my said Patent No.231,552. which consists of a hollow spool, t, the axle of which ismetallic, and is set on insulated standards. Inside of the spool is acoiled spring, 1-. The branch wire 6 is wound around the spool to allowfor any variation of distance between the main conductor a and the car.The inner end of the wire 0 is connected with the metallic axle of thespool, and from one extremity of the axle'a wire, 6, which is merely thecontinuation of the wire (2, extends to the rod m. the wire 0 alwaystaut, but allows of its extension by unwinding it from the spool whenthe car is removed farther from the conductor a. Instead of thespring-spool t, I can use a strong spiral, waved, or similar spring, t,of sufficient extensibility to accommodate the unequal distances betweenthe main conductor and the track. The branch wire 6 iscovered withgutta-percha or other similar coating, so

as to permit the attendants of the car to couple it to and uncouple itfrom the car with safety. It is provided with a snap or other similarcoupling, a, so as to be easily detachable from the car at pleasure.This coupling may be made at the spool t. It is useful in changing theears or shifting them to another track. In many cases double tracks areused, and it then will be desirable to have a main conductor a on eachside ofthe way, and sep arate travelers for the same car when going inopposite directions. IV hen a single track is used and cars are requiredto pass each other at switches, the branch conductors may be detachedand transferred to the other car, and thus permit the-cars to proceedwithout providing switches for the travelers to pass each other.

In case of two lines of track crossing each other at an angle, I haveprovided the following means of permitting the branch wire to The coiledspring 15 keeps 1 iro pass the crossing main, conductor without de 1tachment: In Fig. 4 the main conductor a is continuous; but the crossingmain conductor a is cut, as at a", for the passage of the branch wire 0.The conductor, a is placed sufficiently above the line of a to permitthe passage under it of the traveler f on the conductor a with outinterference. The 'ends of the divided conductor a are electricallyconnected by the of the car.

esaaae insulated plate 2; and brackets o o. The traveler used on theconductor a has a long enough Franief to enable it to bridge over thecut a axle or wheels of the car, l have placed the electromotor h onaframe-work or support, is, which restsupon the axle-bars 10, instead ofplacing it on the body of the car, where it would be affected by theaction of the springs In thelatter case, the springing of the body ofthe car would tend to raise the teeth of; the pinion h" either entirelyout of those of the gear-wheel i or to such an extent as to interfereseriously with the operation of the propelling devices. In case a beltor chain is used, instead of gearing, to transmit the power from themotor-shaft, the necessity of an invariable distance between themotor-shaft "and the car-axle is equally apparent, as it is clear thatfor driving purposes such a belt must be taut, and that any increaseor-decrease ol'distancc, caused by the action of the heavy car-body onthe springs, would be destructive of the belt or ot'its ability to drivethe car-axle.

' The motor'supporting frame is composed of the cross-bar In, whichextends bet-ween and rests upon the axle'bars 'w, and two or moreangle-bars, 7r, one end of which rests upon the bar 7.: and the otherupon the axle i, being provided with bearings is". Extending up from thebearing 7." is a standard, 7:, having a ball-amt-socket or other pivotaljoint at its upper end for supporting the insulating-bar 0. which, beingsubjected by the attachment of the bars m a to the platform to thespring action of the car, requires to be pivoted so that theconnuutator-spring n may always be in. contact with the commutator. .I.propose to place my source of power 1 at the middle of the line, or, incase the lineis of sufficient length to require more than one source ofpower for its proper and economical .operation, in the middle of asection of the same. Then, instead of connecting the nega t-ive pole ofthe machine or battery directly to the ground, as is custoimiry, i runthe negative wire -0 out oupoles b to one end of the line or section. Ata point, between the junctions oi'the positive wire 1' and the negat'ivewire e with themain conduct or w, 1 place I will now explain how Iregulate the an insulator, which prevents the short-circuiting of thecurrents.

speed and reverse the direction of the car. I have arranged thecommutator spring or springs so that 1 am able not only to start, stop,and reverse the car, but also by the same mechanismv by which I cll'ectthese operations to vary its speed without increasing or diminishin thecurrent of electricity.

b To the clearer explanatiou of these devices and their operations, itisnecessary to make a short explana tion of the electrical connections ofthe commutator to the magnets of the motor.

Referring now to Fig. 11, the comniutatorl is composed of twelvesegmental conductors, a a a, a", b b b" I)", and c 0- c c", which areinsulated from each other and from the body of the co1nmutator-wlleel bya suitable non-conductor. These segments are electrically connected bysuitable wires with the electromagnets A B G of the motor. The wiresfrom a c a a all lead to the contact-screw a those from b b b Z)" to If,and those from 0, c c and c to A'single wire from the contactscrews a b,and leads, respectively, to each of the magnets A B (3, being connectedto the coil of the same. The circuit being closed by putting thecommutatorspring it" against one of the a segments, the current passesby its wire to the magnet A and causes its attraction by the nearestarmature. This produces a rotation of the motor. The attraction of themagnet to the armature lllCl't'ZtSQS as it: apprcacl'ies it, and isgreatest when the axles of the two c oineide. At this point the turningof the commutator causes the spring to pass from the a, segment to oneof the b segments; The can .rent then passes to the magnet l), which isthen the nearest magnet to an armature, and acts through it in themanner just described in relation to magnet A. Now, it will be evidentthat if the connnutat or-spring is adj ustcd so as to leave the segmentsbefore the point of greatest power of attraction of the nni-gnets' isreached, and the current; is thereby cut off from the magnets, the speedand power of the motor will be cori.'es ondingly diminished. It is bysuch an adjustment of the commutator spring that I am enabled toincrease or de crease the speed of the car without changing the ibrceol' the current supplied to the motor.

The commntator-spring if, provided with a tuition-roller, a, is placedon the end of a sliding bar, 11, which is operated by a pivoted lever,n, on the plat form of the car. The le- 'ver a is fitted into a rack, r,having five. notches, r c r 1" \Vhen the lever n is placed inthc notchr, the contact of the spring a is directly opposite to the middle of thearmature D. As shown, Fig. Ill, the lever in the r notch, amt thecircuit has just closed with the magnet 13 by the ei'iteringot' theroller nfon the end of segment Ii. The distance the magnet I has to movein order that its axis shall coincide 'with the axis of armature E, iftaken on the same circle as the periphery of the commutator, is exactlyequal to the length of segment I), and consequently the circuit will notbe opened by the roller a passing from the segment 7/ until the point ofgreatest attraction is ltill'ilOti and the current is utilized to itsgreatest extent. The not ob, r, then, is the one in which the lever ashould rest to give the motor its greatest speed and. power with a givencurrent when turning in the dipoint 00 in the segment I).

.opelning before it had reached the point of reetion of arrow 1. Byshifting the lever to notch 0-, the roller a is brought into contactwith segment 0, which closes the circuit with magnet O. The magnet 0,being nearest to armature G, is attracted thereto and turns the motor inthe direction of arrow 2, or the re verse of the first direction and atfull power. The notch r, then, is the one in which the lever a shouldrest to reverse the motor. By shifting the lever a to the r notch,the-roller is brought into contact with the segment at such a point thatit will pass over into the next segment before the magnet reaches thepoint of greatest attraction, and hence the motor will lose in power andvelocity to the extent of such premature opening of the circuit. Toillustrate, refer to Fig. 11- and take segment b and magnet B, used inthe first illustration. Placing the lever a in the notch 1' brings theroller a in contact with the commutator at the This closes the circuitto the magnet 13. The circuit will continue closed until the turning ofthe commutator brings the insulator Z to the roller a", and then it isopened and the current ceases to act on the magnet B. \Vhile thedistance x as was covered by the roller a, the magnet B advanced to thebroken line 31 y, the circuit greatest attraction. The circuit is closedto magnet (I by the segment 0' coming under the roller a, and willcontinue so closed while the roller passes the entire length of thesegment 0. During this time the magnet C is being acted upon by thecurrent, and its center will pass from broken line .2 z to brokenlinczz. XVhen the circuit is opened by the roller a passing from segment 0to segment a", the point of greatest attraction has not been reached,and consequently there is a loss of power and velocity: This operationis repeated at the passing of every segment. The magnets are in circuitonly when. farthest from their armatures and at the points of leastattraction.

The devices just described require no skill on the part of the operator,as all he has to do is to move the lever a, and it may be safely left tothe average car-driver. In case the power obtained at the notches 1' andr" is insufficient to start the car, it may be done by placing the levera for an instant in the notch r or W, and then shifting it into thedesired halfway notch r or r. A further regulation of the speed andpower of the car may be made by Thus the notch-1" is to be used when itis desired to runcase the leak permitted to pass to the motorby theresistance 12 is not sufficient to propel the car uphill or when heavilyladen, the

amount of the current can be increased by reducing the resistance bymoving the contactblock m toward the motor. This will have the effect ofreducing the amount of the cur-. rent obtained by other cars on theline, there being a given quantity supplied to the main conductor; butthis excess of current is not constant, because when the necessity ispast, as when the ascent has been made or the load reduced, theattendant of the car, by increasing the resistance, reduces the leak toits normal volume.

In case it is desired to light the car by electricity, I do it, as shownin Fig. 13, by means of a leak-wire, e which is electrically connectedto the branch wire 6, and runs thence to the axle A lamp, 0", of anydesired construction, is placed in the circuit, and adj ustableresistance 6" is placed either above or below the lamp to regulate thesize of the leak.-

In Fig. 14 I show the light e arranged in a shunt, with a resistance,6*, on the wire e, of sufficient power to deflect the required portionof the current to make the light. In like manner any desired number oflamps may be placed in the car or in the train. ter case the wire 0shall act as a main wire, and leak-wires e", containing the lights a"and a resistance. 0', will be run oil from it to ground or to areturn-wire, as illustrated in Figs; 13 and 14. a

I11 the lat- The form of the resistance p may be varied at pleasure. InFig. 12 I have shown a form which is more effective and desirable thanthat shown in Fig. 2.

If it is desired, in the operation of a train of cars, to have aseparate motor to each car, it can be done by extending the wire 0 alongthrough the train and runningabranch or leak .wire down from it to themotor in each car.

1', it will encounter and leave the commutator upon the upper surface ofthe stripper a. In -order to store for utilization the electricitypassing over the conductor e when the car is stoppi11g,which electricityis in excess ofthe amount supplied to and not needed by other cars onthe line, I extend a conductor, a, from the commutator-spring a to anaccumulator or secondary battery, or, of the ordinaryconstruction,-where it is stored. This batteryhas a ground-wire, of,which leads to the motorframe 10, and grounds the battery'a through theframe, axle i,,and wheel j. When the contact-roller a is restored tocontact with the commutator Z, the current in the battery a flows backover the wire a into the commutator and operates in connection with thecurrent from the conductor 6, the resistance of the motor being lessthan that of the battery or". WVhen contact-roller n is oassin over theinsulatin 1 a o strips Z of the commutator, the current is dimuddystreets.

verted to the secondary battery over the wire a, so that thesecondarybattery is alternately receiving and discharging.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a main conductor a, of diamond-shaped bar orstrip of metal, of sufficient stiffness to sustain the pull of thetraveler in passing around curves or in making a semicircular turn atthe end of the line or track, in order to pass onto thereturn-conductor. A main conductorof wire will not retain a circularshape, and hence a metallic rod of suitable shape is employed.

Hereto'fore, in electric railways, either an insulated'rail or awirearranged near the surface of thetrack has been employed as the mainconductor. However well these may answer for elevated, underground, or'inclosed railways, they are not adapted for useupon surface trackscrossing roads and streets, and for street-railways, because of thedanger to life in crossing the conductors, and the difficulty ofpreserving the insulation in slushy' and These objections, whichpractically destroy their utility, do not exist in my invention, inwhich the main conductor is placed overhead, so as not to interfere withstreet traffic and to render it impossible for accidents to arise. Thecost of operating such a line will be less, as the insulation can beper-,

fectly preserved, and leakage is impossible.

I do not herein claim the combination of a secondary battery with amotor and primary battery or generator, as I reserve the same for aseparate application.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination, in an electric railway,

of a battery or other generator of electricity,

an overhead main conductor, a branch-conductor connected to a car,andhaving a traveling contact with the main conductor, an electromotormounted on the car and power-transmitting devices connecting themotor-shaft to thewheel or axle of the car, substantially and for thepurpose specified.

2. In combination with a car-mot or operated by a leak or branch circuitfrom a main circuit, an adjustable resistance placed in said branchcircuit and regulated by a lever or equivalent device placed on theplatform or other accessible part of the car, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

3. The combination of an electric generator, an overhead main conductor,a branch c011- ductor having traveling contact with the main conductor,a resistance, a car, an electromotor mounted on the car, andpower-transmitting devices which connect the motor-shaft with the wheelor axle of the car, substantially as as and for the purpose specified.

4:. The combination, with a commutator, of

a movable commutatorspring and a stripperto lift the commutatonspringfrom contact with the commutator, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

5. The combination of a continuous main conductor, having a travelingbranch conductor, with a crossing main conductor cut to permit thepassage of the said traveling conductor, and having an electricalconnection between the cut ends around the first-named main con-.ductor, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day ofJanuary, A. D. 1882.

JOHN S. KENNEDY, T. B. KERR.

